The path to in-season glory has been paved with the matchups and groups revealed for the 2025 NBA Cup. The championship is scheduled for Dec. 16.
Basketball is getting a head start on its holiday traveling: the NBA released the groups, matchups, and knockout round schedule for the third edition of its in-season tournament known as the NBA Cup on Wednesday.
View the full 2025 NBA Cup groups below …
Eastern Conference
| Group A | Group B | Group C |
| Atlanta | Boston | Charlotte |
| Cleveland | Brooklyn | Chicago |
| Indiana | Detroit | Miami |
| Toronto | Orlando | Milwaukee |
| Washington | Philadelphia | New York |
Western Conference
| Group A | Group B | Group C |
| Minnesota | Dallas | Denver |
| Oklahoma City | LA Clippers | Golden State |
| Phoenix | LA Lakers | Houston |
| Sacramento | Memphis | Portland |
| Utah | New Orleans | San Antonio |
Group play will begin on Halloween (Oct. 31) and run through Black Friday (Nov. 28). Quarterfinals will be staged at the home of higher seeds on Dec. 9 and 10 before the Dec. 13 semifinals and the Dec. 16 championship game move the action to Las Vegas.
The knockout round will invite the six group winners and the top finishing runner-up in each conference for a chance to go to Sin City. Tiebreakers for the wild card will once again be settled through point differential.
The biggest change on the 2025 NBA Cup docket lies in its national television duties: new NBA television partner Amazon Prime Video will stream the entire knockout round, taking over from ESPN and the departed TNT.
The groups are set for the Emirates NBA Cup 2025.
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) July 9, 2025
All 30 NBA teams were randomly drawn into groups of five within their conference based on win-loss records from the 2024-25 regular season.
The groups are available below. pic.twitter.com/ZZVUwtp3fO
This will be the third edition of the NBA Cup, which will continue to carry sponsorship from Dubai-based airline Emirates. The Milwaukee Bucks, stationed in East Group C, are the defending champions of the event, having defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder in last year’s final at T-Mobile Arena.
Milwaukee and the New York Knicks are the only two teams to reach the knockout round in each of the first two editions of the competition. Both are stationed in East Group C, which also stars Charlotte, Chicago, and Miami.
Inspired by international soccer competitions, the NBA Cup was created to add meaning to the Association’s early season games, which face heavy competition from NFL football broadcasts. The Los Angeles Lakers were the inaugural winners of the event in 2023 and an imitator has risen on the racetrack, as NASCAR has debuted the “In-Season Challenge” in its premier Cup Series.
Geoff Magliocchetti is on X @GeoffJMags
